Harry Truman's Leadership

The nation's new chief executive, Harry S Truman, succeeded
Franklin D. Roosevelt as president before the end of the
war. An unpretentious man who had previously served as
Democratic senator from Missouri, then as vice president,
Truman initially felt ill prepared to govern. Roosevelt had
not discussed complex postwar issues with him, and he had
little experience in international affairs. "I'm not big
enough for this job," he told a former colleague.

Still, Truman responded quickly to new challenges.
Sometimes impulsive on small matters, he proved willing to
make hard and carefully considered decisions on large ones.
A small sign on his White House desk declared, "The Buck
Stops Here." His judgments about how to respond to the
Soviet Union ultimately determined the shape of the early
Cold War.